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UK researchers get go ahead for gene-editing human embryos

READY, set… go? The UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has given the go-ahead for a gene-editing project in human embryos. A team led by Kathy Niakan of the Francis Crick Institute in London could be the first outside China to try the technique in humans.

The team wants to use the CRISPR method of gene-editing to unpick which genes control early development in humans. Niakan plans to use CRISPR to disable genes in single-cell embryos to see what effect this will have on their later structure. They hope this research could ultimately help reduce the number of miscarriages and improve fertility treatments, since the project should provide insights into early embryo health.

To proceed, the team also needs to secure the approval of a separate ethics committee. If they do, they will then start collecting frozen IVF embryos, donated by parents – a process that could take several months.